Fire Dancing
by follow you into the night
Summary: The normally stoic Neji Hyuuga finds himself at a dance with every other shinobi with nothing better to do then glare at Naruto and Kiba. However, he soon finds his attention elsewhere as Tenten gets a little too much attention. NejiTen! shikaino sasusaku


"Yo, Neji? Earth to Hyuuga?"

I turned my eyes slightly to my right where Ino, along with Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, and Sasuke, stood. I didn't believe Ino deserved a response considering the devious smirk that decorated her face. I turned back to glaring towards the dance floor where Naruto and Kiba were in a competition to see who would succeed in having Hinata slow dance with them. So far Hinata had managed to stay conscious, though considering her face matched the shade of Sakura's deep scarlet dress; I doubt she would last much longer.

I had been scolded earlier by Tenten at the training grounds, before even arriving at this stupid dance. She warned (more like threatened) me to be a "good little boy" and to not ruin Hinata's night. Therefore, here I was, stuck along the wall with only one option: give Naruto and Kiba a glare so lethal that they would collapse, lifeless. Suffice to say, neither of them had shown any hint of apprehension, and they certainly weren't dead yet, seeing as how they continued circling my cousin like sharks circling their prey.

An obnoxious clearing of throats had me dragging my sights back to my right. This time Sakura AND Ino were shooting me devious grins. Had I been a lesser man, such as Naruto (not that he is necessarily a bad guy) I may have attempted to sneak away (or flat out run for safety). However, due to my Hyuuga pride, I grounded my stance, refusing to allow them to light any fear within me; though if they kept looking at me like that, I may be reduced to shuddering in front of my fellow shinobi (so not gonna happen).

"Spit it out already."

I sighed as those twin grins grew into dazzlingly fake smiles. I think Shikamaru may have just shuddered. That could only mean one thing: whatever they had to say, I was not going to like it.

"Well…you see Neji, I couldn't help but notice that since this dance started, you have been skulking over here with us, wasting your time glaring at Dumber and Dumbest (don't worry she didn't forget dumb; she reserved that for Lee)."

"What is your point, Ino?" My eyes were narrowed in annoyance, but apparently, unlike in the first Chunin Exams, it had no affect on her whatsoever.

Sakura cut in before Ino, though for once Ino didn't appear to mind sharing the spotlight (by now the rest of our group was listening with rapt attention. (not like anything was actually happening in the first place)

"Come on Neji! Don't tell me you plan to only fend for Hinata tonight. If you continue to focus solely on her, then I suppose Tenten will be left to her own devices. Too bad, considering how tight her dress is, there is no way she has any weapons to defend herself."

"And from what I have observed, guys are starting to get grabby."

My nostrils flared with anger and fire must have shown through my eyes because Ino chose that moment to quickly grasp Shikamaru's arm for protection. I instinctively remember asking Lee to stay with Tenten, as I had already planned to burn a hole through any of Hinata's would be suitors and could not possibly handle any suitors of Tenten's as well.

I glanced back to the dance floor. Of course Lee, in all his shining youthfulness (blech) was performing many of his jutsus in rapid succession in what he must have deluded himself into believing was dancing. I quickly reminded myself to put him in the hospital for a few weeks during our next training match (for Tenten's sake, naturally).

Not bothering to waste my time on lecturing Lee on his inability to listen to orders, I continued my scan of the crowds. I had not come with Tenten to this party, therefore I had yet to see what she looked like. So instead of looking at the dresses, I searched for those trademark buns she insisted on wearing.

After my third inspection of the many ninja occupying the building, I realized she must have worn her hair down for the first time ever (well at least for the first time I would see). Before I even got around to looking at actual faces, I felt a gentle tug on my traditional kimono. Glancing down, I found Sakura pointing to a far corner. Without checking for myself, I yanked my sleeve free and stalked in the direction her finger pointed. (And yes, I could here the snickering behind me, but there was no way any of them warranted a glare; that was reserved for anybody who dared even to look at my teammate.)

Half-way across the dance floor (which resembled the Forest of Death, with all of the flailing limbs), I saw her. She wore heels, silver, sparkly, very eye-catching. Next came her long, tanned, velvety legs which just seemed to go on and on forever (strange I had never noticed before). Once my vision reached her mid-thigh, I came to the conclusion that she had worn a silver dress (strange, I remember at practice once, she got flustered and blurted out that silver was her favorite color). It was elegant, and settled gracefully over her figure. The gown shimmered with every slight movement she made, swishing around her lithe frame. Further up, the silver material was tied around her slim waste with a ribbon of the same color of her new ninja attire (she started wearing it after I mentioned to her on a mission that the color went nicely with her tan skin).

Being the gentleman I am, I averted my gaze from the slight cleavage the dress showed. My eyes landed on her arm. I indulged myself by following up that creamy expanse to her shoulder then across her collar line to journey even higher up her neck. I took in the sight of her jaw line and her flushed cheeks (most likely caused by the stuffiness and haze originating from the many stirring and sweating bodies filling the area). I found myself delighted even further when I found my way to her lips. As I watched, her tongue darted out for a moment to moisten those silky lips.

Now if I had been in the correct state of mind, I may have realized that it could be considered unconventional to be standing in the middle of a throng of dancers while gazing unblinkingly at my teammate and best friend. However, I was not in my right mind. Especially not after witnessing a hand, not belonging to the body I had just spent my time committing to memory, reach up and run its filthy fingers through the delicate waves cascading around the porcelain face of Tenten.

By some male instinct, which overcame every pore of my being, I growled, low and deep in the back of my throat. The music covered any sound that possibly came out, but people around me were beginning to pick up on the lethal aura surrounding me. In under a minute, only a single man stood in my way of Tenten, half of his body was pressed against hers. His face lowered, far too close to hers for my liking. I recognized him briefly as a Chunin involved in the preparing of the Chunin exams from a few months ago. (Authors Note: they are about 18 so it wasn't from their Chunin Exam, just thought I would clarify that! Oh and it isn't Genma! I would never have him do that!)

My blood boiled, heart racing with adrenaline, but I hadn't even taken a single step when the man was unceremoniously shoved backwards. I smiled, relieved as I recalled that Tenten had always been capable of handling herself. I was tempted to turn my back to her, and return to my earlier vigilance as if the last five minutes had not just occurred, but that thought came to an abrupt halt when Tenten's face disappeared from my view once more.

The man, which on closer inspection I realized was hopelessly drunk, had Tenten's upper arms gripped in a deadlock vise. Even if I trusted her to protect herself, I knew that she was no match for a man ten years her senior with far more experience and no conscious thoughts to tell him to stop this spectacle.

So without further ado, I closed the remaining distance and brusquely slashed the side of my open hand onto the man's neck, affectively knocking him unconscious.

Completely satisfied with my handiwork, I slipped my hand into Tenten's, not bothering to acknowledge her stunned face, and led her back towards our friends without a single word of explanation. Upon our arrival, it became apparent from the many slack jaws (not Uchiha or Shino from what I could see) that Tenten was not the only one bewildered by my actions.

Tenten was deposited next to me where I could keep an eye on her, and I went back to my earlier activity: sending death glares to the two buffoons dancing around my cousin.


End file.
